Box and process of and apparatus for the manufacture thereof



' A. G. WETMORE. BOX AND PROCESS OF AND APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURETHEREOF.

V APPLICATION FILED APR. 9, 1919. 1,394,593, Patented Oct. 25, 1921.

A. G. WETMORE. BOX AND PROCESS OF AND APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURETHEREOF.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 9, 1919.

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v A. e. WETMORE. BOX AND PROCESS OF AND APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURETHEREOF.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 9 I919.

Patented Oct. 25, 1921.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3- gugg QM -rir.

A. G. WETMORE.

BOX AND PROCESS OF AND APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE THEREOF.

PLICATION FILED APR. 9. 1919 1,394,593. Patented 001;. 25, 1921.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

UNITED STATES PATENT QFFICE.

ALBERT. G. WETMORE, OF PLYMOUTH, TNDIAN A.

BOX AND PROCESS OF AND APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE PHEREOF.

Application filed April 9, 1919.

To all whom it may concern-.-

Be it known that I, ALBERT G. lVnTMoRn, a citizen of the United Statesof America, and a resident of Plymouth, Indiana, have invented a certainnew and useful Improvement in Boxes and Processes of and Apparatus forthe Manufacture Thereof, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the manufacture of boxes in general, but moreparticularly to those which are reinforced with wire, and which areformed from side wall sections having cleats formed to engage each otherat their ends, together with heads or end walls that are secured to thecleats to form the ends of the box.

Generally stated, the object of the invention is to provide an improvedmethod or process whereby the blanks which are employed in making boxesof this character can be first formed in one stiff section composed of asheet of veneer or other material having the cleats secured thereto, andwhereby the blank, thus partially formed, can then be divided intosections, by cutting the cleats and severing the sheet transverselyalong a line opposite the cuts, leaving the sections of the blankconnected together by wires or other flexible means, and with thesevered edges of the sheet adapted to engage each other to provide tightcorners for the box.

Another object of'the invention .is to provide a novel and eflicientmachine for thus cutting the cleats, and for severing the sheet materialtransversely of the blank in the manner above stated, thereby to convertthe partially formed or stiff blanks into flexible blanks which can bebent around the heads or' end Walls of the box.

Another. object is to obviate the necessity of using certain methods andfeatures of construction heretofore considered necessary 'or desirablein the manufacture of wire bound or similar boxes.-

It is also an object to provide certain de tails and features ofconstruction and combinations tending to increase the general efiiciencyand the'desirability of a box of this particularconstruction,

and of a machine of this particular character.

To these and other useful ends the invention consists in mattershereinafter set forth and claimed.

Specification of Lettersfatent.

Patented Oct. 25, 1921.

Serial No. 288,825.

showing the saws and cutters and workcarrying belt in side elevation,and showing the structure for supporting the saws in vertical section.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail view showing the ,manner in which the twosaws 'cooperate to successively cut 'first one side and then the otherside of a V-shaped notch in the cleat, so that the notch is not completeuntil after the second saw passes through the cleat, and whereby agroove is cut in the sheet of veneer'or other sheet material, in linewith the apex of the V-shaped notch, thus forming a line along which thesheet is subsequently severed.

Fig. 6 is a similar view, showing the man ner in which the cutter seversthe sheet along the bottom of the groove previously formed by'thetwo-saws.

Fig. 7 'is a perspective of the partially formed or-stiif blank, showingthe construction and appearance of the same before'it is passed throughthe machine.

Fig. 8 is a similar view showing the con struction and appearance of theblank after passing through-the machine.

Fig. 9 isa perspective of one end portion of the separate or loosesection which, for the particular form of box shown and described, formsthe cover or top wall thereof.

Fig. 10 is a perspective of the complete blank flexed into position toreceive the heads or end walls of the box.

Fig. 11 is a perspective of one of said heads or end Walls, with oneedge portion thereof shown broken away for convenience is not groovedbythe saws and when'the rotary cutter is required to perform the entirework of cutting a V-shaped groove in theveneer, with the apex of thegroove extending through to the outer surface of the blank.

As thus illustrated, the machine comprises a-suitable body frame 1adapted to support the various operative parts in suitably elevatedposition. An endless traveling work holderv 2, composed of sprocketchains suitably mounted on sprocket wheels 3 at the opposite ends of thebed or table 4 which forms the .top of the body frame,is employed forcarrying or pro elling the blanks alon sidewise, the workolder beingprovide with suitable projections or pushers 5 for this purpose, so thatthe blanks are carried forward in a manner that will be readilyunderstood, the endless sprocket chain work-holder thus formed beingsupported to slide on the said table, in any suitable or desired manner,so that it will not bevel gears 12 on the upper ends of said screws,said shaft being mounted in bearsag under the weight of the blanks, norbe ings 13 on the side frames 8, and having a crank handle 14 for the oeration thereof,

whereby the beams 6 and which are disposecl'asuitable distance apart,but preferably in the same horizontal plane, can be raised and loweredto suit the requirements. The beam 6 is formed to provide a guideway forthe sliding supports15 and 16, at opposite sides thereof, and is formedw1th a rack 17 'ate'ach side thereof to engage the pinions 18 carried bythe supports 15 and 16, and by means of handles 19 these pinions arerotated in engagement-with the racks to cause the supports 15' and 'l6to slide along the beam 6, for a purpose which will hereinafter morefully appear. It will be understood that the rack and pinion arrangementshown in Fig.

2 is duplicated on the other side of the beam '6', and on both sides ofthe'beam 7, whereby there are four racks and four pinions. I An inclinedshaft 20 is mounted on the support 15, and a similar shaft 21, disposedat the opposite an 1e, is mounted on thesupport 16, whereby t ese twoshafts are arranged, one in front and one behind the transverse beam 6,and the-lower ends of these shafts are provided with rotary saws 22 and.23 to form the V-shaped notches in the cleats, it being observed thatthe two saws converge to a longitudinal line disposed immediately overone of the sprocket chains of the traveling work-holder.

It will be seen that the beam 7 is similarly equipped with a pair ofsaws 24 and 25, which are mounted and operated exactly like thosepreviously described, whereby a V- shaped notch is cut in each cleatdirectly over another link belt or sprocket chain of the endlesstraveling work-holder, as shown more clearly in Fig. 2. With thisarrangement, the said saws can be adjusted laterally for blanks ofdifl'erent lengths, and the sprocket chains of the work-holder are alsoadjustable laterally on the shafts 26, in any suitable or well knownmanner, whereby the entire machine is adjustable for the purpose ofmaking blanks of difierent lengths. The said saws may, of course, bedriven by belts applied to the pulleys 27 on their shafts, or in anyother suita le or desired manner. Preferably, the saws are so adjustedor set relatively to each other, that they not-only form the V-shapednotches of the cleats, but also cut V-shaped grooves in the-sheet ofveneer, or other sheet material, to which the lon cleats are secured.,The arrangement of t e saws in pairs in this manner, and with one pairin advance of the other, is of advantage, it will be seen, as in thisway the notches in the cleats can be qulte close together, if necessary,whereas with the saws all mounted on the same transverse beam, or all inline transversely of the machine, there would necessarily be a limit tothe shortening of the distance between the-notches, so that the blanksof less than a certain length could not be made; but, with theconstruction and arrangement shown and described, blanksof any length,within limits, and with the notches quite close together'or fartherapart, can be made on one and the same machine.

.After the notches are thus formed in the lon cleats A of the partially.formed or sti blank, so that V-shaped notches B are formed in theblank, as shown in Figs.

7 and 8, and after the grooves C are formed in the sheet of veneer,which grooves preferably extend parallel with the grain of thewood, ofcourse, the partially separated sections 'of the sheet are then en-.tirely separated from each other by the rotary cutters 28 which aremounted on a shaft 29 behind the saw 25, each cutter consisting of adisk having asharp edge which will make athin. cut'entirely through thesheet without cuttin away any of the materialthereof, thus caving thetwo severededges oithe sheet beveled in the manner shown. These rotarycutters are raised and lowered by bevel gear mechanism 30, through themedium of vertically disposed screws 31 that support the boxes orbearings 32 of the shaft 29, so that by rotation of the shaft 33 of saidmechanism the cutters can be adjusted up and down in unison, thereby toaccurately position their cutting edges in order to cause them to cutthrough the sheet in the desired manner. It will be seen that theserotary cutters 28 are also directly in line with some of the link beltsor sprocket chains of the endless traveling work-holder, so that theveneer or other sheet material is solidly supported below the edges ofthe rotary knives or cutters thus provided, and whereby a very thin andclean cut will be made through the portion of the sheet remaining afterthe cuttlng of'the groove therein by the saws. If desired, and with aview to avoiding any inju'r to the binding wires of the blank, the saidwires can be depressed or slightly bent away from the blank, or formedat some stage of the process with kinks at the points where the box sidesections meet, as shown at 34 in Fig. 12, and the work holder may beformed accordingly to receive these bent portions of the binding wires.

These kinks 34, of course, tend to drawithe sections more tightlytogether at the corners of the box at some stage of the process, as

the kinking or looping of the wire in thisway tends to shorten theconnection between the sections. The cutters 28 have sharp edges, ofcourse, but by this is simply meant that the edges are sharp enough tosever the sheet by the making of a thin and clean cut, without cuttingaway any of the material of the sheet, so that the two severe-d edgeswill not only be beveled, but will also remain in engagement with eachother, or very nearly so, thereb to provide a tight joint between thetwo e ges at the corner of a box when the two sections of the sheet arefolded relatively to each other in the manner shown. Thus the V-shapednotches and grooves are formed first, and then the rotary cutters 28roll along in these grooves and complete the operation by totallysevering the sheet along transverse lines, with the result that thepartially formed or stifi' blank is thereby reduced to a flexible blankwhich can be folded around the heads or end walls D of the box.

Sprin guards 35, of any suitable character, can is employed for holdingthe blanks down while passing under the saws, and similar or anysuitable spring guards 36 can be provided for doing the same thing whilethe blanksare passing under the rotary cutters 28, thus preventing theblanks from rising and falling while being operated upon by the saws andcutters. I If desired, the end of the shaft 29 can be provided with abelt pulley 37, so'that the rotary cutters can be positively driven,thereby to facilitate the cutting action.

As shown in Figs. 7 to 11 inclusive, the construction is of a knock-downcharacter, the cleats being provided with grooves 38 to receive thetongues or ridges 39 formed on the cleats 40 which are secured to theouter sides of the heads or end walls D, in position to thusinterlock-with the cleats of the blank, thereby holding the heads or endwalls in place without the insertion of any fastening devices. -It willbe understood, however, that ordinary heads or end walls, stapled to thecleats of the blank, in the ordinary or well known manner, can beemployed, if such is desired or necessary. Also, as shown, the blankcomprises only three sections, which are flexibly connected together bythe binding wires 4:1, in the well known manner, and a separate sectionE is provided to form the cover or top wall of the box, this coverhaving bindin wires 42 which have their ends formed with portions 43 toengage the loops 44 on the ends of the wires 41, whereby the cover canbe tightly secured in place, the end portions of the wires being twistedor tightened in any suitable or well known manner. It is obvious though,that the invention is not limited to any particular form of box orcrate, or to the making of blanks having any particular number ofsections. The machine may have as many saws as are necessary to form thedesired number of notches in the box blank, depending upon the shape ofthe box-to be made and the number of sections required for the blank,and the rotary knives or cutters which sever the sheet can be arrangedaccordingly, and can be of any desired number.

By beveling the edges of the sheets, as shown, the two edges themselvesare adapted to be brought together, to form a tight joint along thecorner of the box when the blank is folded, and the overlapping of onesheet by the other is not necessary, inasmuch as the bevel forms a tightjoint between the two adjacent edges themselves, so that a lap joint isnot necessary. In this way, therefore, the edge of each sheet is heldby'the other sheet against displacement inwardly, by pressure on theoutside for each sheet opposes the inward flexing of the other. Thesaws, of course, can be set at any desired angles, so that the two sidesof the V-shaped notch will be at right angles to each other, as shown,or at either an acute or an obtuse angle, if such is necessary ordesirable, which is one advantage of the V-notch construction shown anddescribed, as distinguished from other formations by which theends ofthe cleats have heretofore been brought together.

The cover section E can, of course, be constructed in any suitable ordesired manner, by any suitable machinery, so that its cleats and edgeswill properly engage the cleats and edges of the front and back wallsections. It is also obvious that the cleats and wires canbe secured tothe veneer or other sheet material by staples, in the ordinary manner,and by any suitable machinery, thereby to produce the partially formedor stiff blanks. Thereafter the blanks are passed through the machineshown and described, in the manner explained, thereby to divide the longcleats into as many short cleats as is necessary in order to produceblanks of the required length, or having the desired number of flexiblyconnected sections.

' The notches B, as previously described, extend, when finished,entirely through the cleats, and into the veneer. O viously, however,notches can be out which extend either entirely through the cleats,without extending into the veneer, if such is necessary or desirable. Asshown in Fig. 13, the notch F extends entirely through the long cleat,but not into the veneer. The saws 22, 23,

24, and 25 can be set, of course, by adjustingthem in the mannerdescribed, so that notches or openings or V-shaped cuts w1ll be made inthe cleats, either as shown in Fig. 8 and Fig. 12, oras shownin Fig. 13,depending somewhat upon the character of the veneer or wood or othersheet material employed and the quality and thickness thereof. If thenotches or V-shaped cuts are made as shown in Fig. 13, then the V-shapedgroove is cut in the veneer b a cutter G, as shown in Fig. 14, and its ege is provided with a double bevel exactly in alinem ent with the twosides of the notch F, so that the V- shaped groove thus cut in theveneer will extend through to the outer surface of the blank, along asharp line that will show on the under side of the veneer, which is theouter side when the blank is folded. In such case, these cutters G,which are the same as the cutters 28, but perhaps a little thicker, willbe rapidly rotated to actually cut away some of the sheet material,thereby to form the V-shaped groove in the veneer. With this adjustmentof the machine, the cleats are subdivided by one step, without scoringor cutting the veneer, and the separation of the veneer into sections isthen accomplished by another step in the process or method, by therapidly rotating'cutters G, so that the blank becomes flexible, aspreviously described. When the machine is set-or adjusted to operate asshown in Figs. 5," 6 and 12, the saws make a reliminary groove in theveneer, as explained, and the cutters 28 then merely slit the bottom ofsuch groove, and in this case the cutters 28 of hardened tool steel, forexample, can be adjusted to roll on the tops of the link belts, thelatter having flat surfaces for this purpose, or even being providedwith a slight groove for the edge of the cutter 28, so that the latterwill just cut through the veneer, thereby to form the thin and clean andstraight .line of division or separation on the outer side of the blank,and in such case the cutter 28 will not cut away .any of the sheetmaterial, or is not required to do this. In Fig. 13, however, theoperation will probably require an actual cutting away of some of thesheet material, depending somewhat upon the thickness and quality of thesheet material. In either case, however, the sheet material ispreferably held down perfectly flat by the presser feet 35 and 36 ateach side of the saws, and at each side of the rotary cutters, so thatif the material is warped or uneven it will not be improperly cut-thatis to say, such warping will not interfere with the cutting of a cleanand straight groove of uniform depth and width in the veneer, and willnot interfere with the cutting or notching of the long cleats to dividethe latter into as many sections as there are sections for the blank.

Thus it is obvious that the invention is not limited to a box of anyparticular size or shape, or to a box having any particular number ofsides, nor to the making of blanks having any particular number ofsections, as the number of sections will vary according to the shape ofthe box, the square or rectangular box shown being merely illustrativeof one form of the invention. As shown, the box blank has the cleatssecured to its inner surface and the binding wires to the outer surfacethereof. Also it will be seen that the invention is not limited to anyparticular adjustment of the saws, inasmuch as they can be adjusted tomerely cut through the cleats, without cutting into the veneer, ormay-be adjusted to cut through the cleats and into the veneer, thusforming a preliminary groove to receive the rotary cutter; and, whilethe saws are shown in staggered relation to each other, so that one sideof the V-shaped cut is made first, and the other side afterward, it isobvious that both sides of the out can be made simultaneously bysuitable arrangement of the saws, should this method be preferred to theother method or process which involves the formation of one side of thecut first and the other side afterward. By V-shaped notches, it willbeunderstood is meant a out which extends either entirely through theblank, or a out which extends only partially through the blank, orthrough the cleats, for the notching of the inner side ner shown anddescribed, or by any suitable method or machinery.

What I claim as my invention is 1. A machine for cutting the cleats andsheet material of a partially formed box blank to divide the blank intoflexibly connected sections, comprising instrumentalities for entirelysevering the cleats on a line extending across the blank, therebyforming oppositely disposed notches therein, leaving the sections of thecleats still connected end to .end by the sheet material, a structurefor supporting the blank during the operation, and cutting meansdisposed in position for severing the sheet material along said line,leaving the sections united merely by the flexible connection betweenthem.

2. A structure as specified in claim 1, said cuttin means including acutter having its edge ormed to make a thin straight out through thesheet without cutting away any of the material thereof.

3. A structure as specified in claim 1, said 1 cutting means including acutting disk disposed in position to engage the inner surface of theblank and formed with a sharp edge adapted to make a thin straight outthrough the sheet without cutting away any of the material thereof. 7

4. A structure as specified in claim 1, said instrumentalities beingadapted to cut a groove in the sheet to form the line for said cuttingmeans.

5? A structure as specified in claim 1, said instrumentalities includinga saw disposed at an an le to form one side of the notch, and anot ersaw disposed at an angle to form the other side of the notch, the twosaws being disposed one ahead of the other to operate successively onthe cleat, so that V- shaped notches are successively cut in the cleatson said line.

6. A structure as specified in claim 1, said instrumentalities beingdisposed in position to successively cut opposite notches in the cleatsnearer one end of the blank, and thereafter to successively cut oppositenotches in the cleats nearer the other end of the blank.

7. A structure as specified in claim 1, said structure comprising atraveling workholder topropel the blanks along 'sidewise, so that thecleats extend transversely of the direction of travel, saidinstrumentalities being disposed in position to form a groove along saidline and to form the notches in the cleats of the moving blank,

and said cutting means being disposed in position to pass through thegroove and notches thus previously cut by said instrumentalities.

8. A structure as specified in claim 1, said instrumentalities includingsaws arranged to form V-shaped notches in the cleats, and to cut a V-groove in the sheet which the severing of the sheet involves a material,along said line on the inner surface of the blank, said structurecomprising a traveling work-holder to carry the blanks along sidewise,so that the cleats extend transversely of the direction of travel, andsaid cutting means including a rotary disk having a sharp edge formed totraverse said groove and make a thin straight cut through the sheetwithout cutting away any of the material thereof. I

9. The process of making a box blank, comprislng the fastening of cleatsand flexible binding members to the sheet material to form a stiffblankhaving said cleats on the inner surface of the blank and thebinding members on the outer surface thereof, cutting notches in thecleats to completely sever and thereby divide each cleat into aplurality of sections, leaving the sections still connected by the sheetmaterial and the flexible members, and completely severing the sheetmaterial transversely in line with said notches, so that the sheetmaterial is entirely divided after the cleats and binding members are.secured thereto, finally leaving the sections of the blank connectedmerely by said flexible members.

10. A process as specified in claim 9, comprising the grooving of thesheet when the notches are cut in the cleats, thereby partially to severthe sheet, and thus forming grooves along which the complete severing isthereafter efi'ected.

11. A process as specified in claim 9, comprising a V-formation of saidnotches, and a similar \l-fOrmation between the edges of the sheet,substantially as shown and described, prior to the complete separationof said edges.

12. A process as specified in claim 9, in

cutting operation which is accomplished without cutting away any of thematerial of the sheet. i

13. The'process 'of makin a box blank, comprising the securing o cleatsto the sheet material to form a stiff blank, cutting notches in thecleats to completely sever and thereby divide each cleat into sections,leaving the sections still connected end to end by the sheet materialand thereafter completely severing the sheet material transversely inline with said notches, so that the sheet material is entirely dividedafter the cleats are secured thereto.

14. A process as specified in claim 13, involving the grooving of thesheet to form a line for the final severing thereof. 15. A process as.specified in claim 13, in which the severing of the sheet involves acutting operation which is accomplished without cutting away any of -thematerial of the sheet.

16. A process as specified in claim 13, in

which one side of the notch is made first, and the other side afterwardso that a V- notch is formed, and in which the sheet is grooved whilethe notches are being made, so that a groove is formed in linewith thenotches to partially sever the sheet, the final and complete severingbeing accomplished afterward along the bottom of the groove.

17. A structure as specified in claim 1, said instrumentalities beingadjustable to cut through the cleats without cutting .into the sheetmaterial, if desired, or to .cut through the cleats and partiallythrough the sheet material, to form a groove along said. line if thelatter method is necessary or desirable.

18. The process of making a wire-bound box blank, comprisingthefastening of Wires to sheet material to form a stiff blank of therequired length, and thereafter severin the sheet material entirelacross the b ank, without cutting said wires, to provide a plurality ofseparate sections which are disposed edgewise together and flexiblycon-' nected merely by said wires.

19. A process as specified in claim 18, including the fastening ofcleats to the sheet material, and the severing of said cleats intosections before the sheet material is severed.

20. A process as specified in claim 18, including two successive cuttingoperations to accomplish the complete severing of the blank intosections, so that a notch is first cut in the bla and thereafter a cutis made entirely through the sheet material at the center of said notch.H

21. A process as specified in claim 18, in-

cluding the step of forming a. V-notch by cutting first one side thereofand then the other, thereby also at the same time and by this same stepforming a V-groove in the sheet material, and thereafter cuttingentirely through the sheet material along said groove. I

22. A process as specified in claim 18, including the flexing of thewires to prevent them from being injured by the cutting means. I y

'23. The process of making a wire bound box, comprising the stapling ofwires to sheet material, using the same staples to also secure longcleats to the sheet material, thereby to form a long stifi' blank of thedesired length, cutting notches in said cleats at predetermined pointsbetween said staples, to divide each cleat into short sections, and alsocompletely severing the sheet material in line with said points, leavingthe sections of the blank flexibly connected merely by the wirespreviously stapled thereto.

24. The process specifiedin claim 23, in which the severing of the sheetmaterial is preceded by the cutting of grooves along the linespredetermined for the severance of said material.

25. The process specified in claim 23, in which the notches .are cutsuccessively in each cleat, and the sheet material is grooved along thelines predetermined for the subsequent complete severing of saidmaterial.

26. The process specified in claim 23, in"

which-the cutting of said notches precedes the complete severing of thesheet material.

ALBERT G; WETMORE.

